To apply for an assisted place?

[pollypopsocks]

DD is youngest in her class (state school) but has always been in the top group, she is very driven and intelligent and I would love her to be able to go to private school but we can't afford it. Has anyone applied for an assisted place and what happened?

Bursaries can be up to 50% of the fees any school that has charitable status has to offer them there is usually at least 2 per year, they are means tested BUT i know at dds school the cut of for full bursary is a combined income of 50k which isn't very much and they take into account assets such as property etc and if you drive a flash car and holiday every year this would also be considered. They are reassessed every year so while you may start out on full 50% bursary you may find if your circumstances change you could get hit for near enough the full amount.

Have a look around, like you my son is very clever (although Not Driven at all ) We applied for Christ's Hospital, a means tested private school (don't want to go into the pros and cons of that school now) Didn't expect to get in, but he did . My friends daughter applied for the local GDST school and got in with a 50% bursery.

If you don't apply you'll never know.

YANBU at all. Your child's education, your responsibility. Good luck.

vj32 - "Then all of DD's friends will have a boat or a pony or a swimming pool and go skiing twice a year " - that really is a myth, I don't know why it gets trotted out so often.

Both my DCs go to independent schools (as did I) and I don't know a single family at their schools (well-regarded city day schools) who has a pony or a swimming pool. We certainly don't. Some families at private schools have lots of money, big houses, lots of holidays etc, but plenty don't because all their money goes on school fees or they are on bursaries already.

Uniforms can cost hundreds if you buy everything on the list brand new, but nearly every school has a second-hand shop - DD's school skirts cost £4 for posh tartan pleated ones, good as new, and her blouses were £3 each.

The biggest problem with going to a private school on a bursary is that there are so few of them available, so the cut-off point for full fees to be paid is very low - often an income of £25k or under, over that you are expected to pay a quarter or a half yourself, but I can't see how most families on that kind of income could even afford a quarter of the fees.

There seems to be a bit of confusion over scholarships and bursaries.

It's the scholarships that tend not to be worth so much these days. Maybe 10-15%. These are usually topped up by bursaries in cases of financial need.

Bursaries are available independently of scholarships. Some schools don't offer scholarships but do offer bursaries and they can be up to 100% of fees, depending on the school in question. Some schools are incredibly generous - Eton College, for example. Some can't afford to be generous so their bursaries are few and not worth as much.

YANBU. It does no harm to ask around at the schools in your area to see what's on offer. Take a look at their websites to start with: most have a section on scholarships and bursaries.

Polly, where abouts in the country are you?

My youngest son is on a full bursary place at a superb independent school in the Midlands. He had to pass the entrance exam with a high mark, have an interview with the headmaster, and come from a household with a total annual income of under £20.000 (that's us, we're poor!) to fulfill all the conditions to have all his fees paid, plus a contribution towards his uniform, bus fares and compulsory school trips.

The school had complete discretion who it gives financial assistance to. Financial assistance can be given to families with household incomes up to £70,000 in this school - it's one of the most generous schemes in the country.

You need to ask individual independent schools local to you what financial assistance they can offer; they're all different. Good luck :)

As people have said some schools have one or two bursaries a year for the very bright which are means tested. Ask around. Also consider taking a second job to pay school fees. Plenty of women are able to increase their income/found a business sufficient to generate the money to pay. Just try to think laterally about it.

The very bright ones don't benefit from private schools it's the middle children that are worth paying for IMO, the ones that need a push. We're moving from private to state for better facilities in some subjects but we might go back for 6th form.
I disagree about her standing out though, most of the parents who are genuinely wealthy are tighter than a fishes arse they don't spend anything on their children.
Uniform is about £300, but then so is the local state school tbh.

I second the previous comments that not all children at private schools have a pony and a pool. Lots of parents have decided, like us, to make lifestyle sacrifices to send their children to private school. You can buy all the uniform seond hand and most things like trousers and polo shirts from tesco. I hope you can sort something out.

At the Independents in my area bursaries are means tested and can be up to 100% which includes clothing/book/compulsory school trips allowance. To be awarded a bursary you first have to apply/ pass the entrance exam and be awarded a place only then does the bursar look at your financial background. No need to be super intelligent just have to pass the test.

However, those who do exceptionally well in the exam which all children have to take (including those already in the junior schools) will be invited to sit the scholarship exam and if successful will get 25% off the fees regardless of your ability to pay. These scholarships are normally from bequests, so you could be awarded the Kaumana scholarship for example.

As you can see it there is alot of variance in how schools deal with financial assistance.

Yes, our lunches are included. Their trip abroad is included. Book included. All int he school fees. Second hand uniform sales very well attended.
The very bight can enjoy very academic private schools though as everyone in the class is very clever so the level of debate is interesting for them.

Also private schools may give you other advantages. Very bright children at some state schools still may do worse than less bright private school children because they haven't learned perhaps how to debate as well or how to speak properly or how to conduct themselves or what to wear and the heap of things that matter in real life when you're getting jobs in certain organisations. They may not find so many useful contacts for later life in their bog standard comp either.

Do worse at what, Xenia? Apart from dress sense? The usefulness of contacts is also dependent on how outgoing your dcs are.

Can't believe how variable the situation is up and down the country. Interesting for me; the press sometimes sounds as if everyone at independent school is a toff, but I know that isn't so at all.

LOL at FabbyChick 'Oxbridge is not a flash university'. Are you maybe confusing Oxford with Oxford Brookes?

I was lucky enough to get an assisted place just before they were abolished. My mum was a single mum and there was no way she could've paid the full amount for me to go to a private school.

You also have to remember that, although your child may be top of the class at her current school, there is a high chance of her not being so at a private school. I was the same as her in my state primary, used to ask for homework, was in top sets, etc and when I joined the private school I was just an average student, no longer "1 of the best", had to work a hell of a lot harder just to maintain average marks. It was a lot of hard work and pressure for me to go to that from being "a top student"

Secondly, You still end up having an awful lot to pay out. Uniform (including things like tennis racquets, hockey sticks, etc) extra music lessons or possibly tuition to help your daughter maintain her grades if necessary. School trips (our school had an annual ski trip available, as well as other trips to theatres, Barcelona, London, Kenya, Ecuador, etc) As you do get to the point where you don't want her missing out on things like that but they can be difficult to afford.

You also have to take into account how you will feel if after a year or 2 at a private school she decides she can't cope with the pressure or is not at all happy. I do know of some parents who have guilted their children into staying because of "how good the school is" and "the opportunity they have been given." I was lucky as my mum never put any pressure on me. It was up to me to sit the entrance exam and when offerred a place it was up to me whether I accepted or went to the local comp with all of my friends. And throughout my school career, I always knew it was down to me. If I wanted to leave and go join my mates, she would've let me, as long as I was happy.